LAKEPORT, Calif. – The situation at a north Lakeport subdivision continued to worsen on Sunday, as part of a damaged house fell off and a neighbor nearby reported finding damage to a home where none had been previously.
Over the last month the situation at Lakeside Heights, located on a hilltop overlooking Hill Road and across from Sutter Lakeside Hospital, has created concern for residents and local officials.
A slipping hillside has caused irreparable damage to several homes which were red-tagged, as Lake County News has reported.
Despite the effort to remove water from the saturated ground – which officials believe has led to the sinking homes – the ground has continued to move, with new fissures opening up.
On Sunday afternoon, neighbors reported hearing the back of one of the homes fall off.
Nearby, a house has sunk into a hole and a third is jutting over the hillside, with part of its foundation and its back deck having pulled loose and fallen away with the deteriorating ground.
On the other side of Lancaster Road, where all of the damaged homes have so far been located, resident Rick Schnabl found cracks developing in his walls and an exterior door that now is difficult to open, signs he said his neighbors experienced at their homes before more serious damage set in.
He said they’re not sure whether to stay or go. “You’re between the rock and the hard spot.”
An update on the subdivision and strategies for protecting the county’s water and sewer infrastructure is set to go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m.
Schnabl is the son-in-law of Supervisor Rob Brown, who has recused himself from the discussions regarding Lakeside Heights due to a potential conflict of interest relating to his family members’ homeownership there.
John Jensen contributed to this report.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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